Photography Tips

Underwater

Many of the digital cameras available today have optional cases to allow you to take your camera underwater. It is new to most people and an exciting prospect but there are some words of advice that should be heeded before you embark on your underwater adventures. Canon UK offer us that advice; click here for the know-how and precautions required to take pictures and to care for your underwater equipment. For a few quick tips see below.

• Check to see whether an underwater housing is available for your digital camera.
• Best time of day to take photographs is between 10am and 2.00pm when the sun is overhead.
• Shoot using an upward angle where there is more light.
• Avoid looking down into the darkness where exposure problems may occur.
• Get in close to your subject. When looking through a face mask, everything looks about 25% closer than it is.
• Try taking silhouettes by shooting with the sun behind your subject. These images can be very powerful.
• Also try taking pictures with the camera half in and half out of the water. This needs practice but the results can be very unusual.
• If you use a camera housing beware of bubbles drifting in front of the camera lens.
• Try to look for strong colours and if possible isolate the subject from the background, and remember the deeper you dive the less colourful it is.

Macro – a short story

Taking a summertime walk at lunchtime, round the footpaths of surrey suddenly made me aware of how much wildlife there was particularly in amongst the flora and fauna. Footpaths and meadows are havens for insects just waiting to be photographed, however by the time you have set up your SLR on a tripod and crunched about trying to find somewhere to put your knee to balance yourself, that fantastic shot is flying or scurrying away. The solution of course is a Digital Camera. The main essence of Digital Photography is you take a shot, view and delete if its no good, no more hoping you have a good shot, you can check there and then so everything you take should be worthy of printing, ideal when that shot wont be repeatable and you cant revisit the same spot, especially when that rare of beautiful insect will have long gone.

Today there is an abundance of cameras but not all have a unique feature perfect for close up photography, the Macro button. Macro in the photography world means “close-up” or close to. Many of the compacts today would be capable of taking a good picture of a flower but less still of a ladybird or spider for example just a few millimetres away.

The actually nitty-gritty of actually taking the pictures does require some photographic knowledge however. My tips for excellent macro shots would be take a monopod, (a single legged tripod) to steady the camera when you have time to set it down before that shot gets away, keep the camera in aperture priority mode with the smallest aperture selected say f11 or greater if the camera has it, for maximum depth of field, set the sensitivity or electronic film speed to 100 ASA for the best quality image, force the focussing to manual and move the camera in and out to focus on that critical spot. If you must use auto focus then if you can select or force a central focussing point, at least then you’ll know where the focus point will be. The beauty of some models is a “Best Shot Selector”, in this mode the camera takes several shots in a row and saves the sharpest. If you use all of these features in conjunction with centre weighted or spot metering then you should be able to capture the magic of the hedgerows.

The practicality of taking close ups also proves a problem, you cant always put the camera to your eye and you cant always crawl about in the mud, you need to be able to offer the camera up to the subject, (say a butterfly as it lands) and push the button before it takes off again. With cameras that have a screen that rotates you can angle the lens to the subject and the view screen to your eye and thus get very low to the ground. You can place the camera somewhere inaccessible by you but not your hand holding it, such as in a bush or between stalks of grass. You would never be able to achieve this with an SLR or film camera. One last bit of kit I would advise would be a screen hood to shield the sun from the view screen to make sure you can see everything is in focus, securing a crisp image with little effort. It makes the digital camera indispensable to the would-be nature photographer.

Wedding

• If you are not the official wedding photographer, keep out of his way. He has a very difficult job to do.
• Arrive early at the church/venue to sort out the best locations for pictures, taking into account direction of the sun and other weather conditions.
• Take an umbrella!
• Seek permission if you wish to take pictures indoors.
• Take plenty of storage media as you may not have time to delete unwanted shots as you go along.
• Use a tripod at all times.
• Do not be quiet, shy or bashful, talk to the wedding guests and tell them when you are taking the photograph. This will hopefully avoid 'the wandering eye' syndrome when everyone looks in different directions.
• Make a list of the traditional groups that you should take and make sure you don't miss any important shots.
• Ask the bride and groom if they have any particular photographs they want.
• Always be on the lookout for the more informal photographs. However, the most successful and informal looking shots have usually been set up by an experienced photographer.
• Learn to use fill-in flash and always carry a reflector to use when the light is contrasty or very dull.
• Besides photographing groups, take plenty of close ups. This type of portraiture is very popular at weddings.

Ski

• Keep your camera warm, at very low temperatures battery life can be very short. Place the camera and spare batteries next to your body.
• If possible, use a UV filter on the lens. This prevents your photographs looking excessively blue.
• Use fast shutter speeds to capture clear and sharp action shots.
• Be aware of other skiers - people travel very fast and if you are looking through the camera you may not see them coming.
• Look for colourful ski gear to photograph.
• Try following the action using a slow shutter speed of about 1/15 sec (panning). This effect can be very creative and give you out of the ordinary images.
• Look for pattern pictures in the snow involving marks or light and shadow.
• Avoid taking pictures when the sun is overhead. This makes the snow look flat and uninteresting.

Safari

• You will definitely need a telephoto lens no shorter than 300 mm. The larger the animal in the frame, the more impact your photo will have.
• Use a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 sec even when using a tripod.
• Use a tripod to get razor sharp images. Alternatively, rest your long lens on something steady. Buy a bean bag.
• Get out early in the morning to take pictures. Most animals are usually more active at this time of day. And there are usually less tourists around.
• Watch the background making sure that there is nothing intrusive in your photograph. Moving just a couple of yards either way may improve your image considerably.
• Think carefully about the aperture you use. By using a large aperture you can throw the background out of focus to isolate the subject.
• If you can move closer to the animal, try using a little fill-in flash to catch lights in the eyes. Might be a bit difficult with lions!
• Don't give up when the weather conditions are cloudy, soft lighting conditions can be very effective.
• Look for animals that are doing something rather than just sleeping

Beach

• Biggest problem is with the possibility of sand getting into the works of the camera and lens. If you do not have anything else to protect the camera, use a plastic bag.
• Keep your camera well away from the sea, salt water can also be a camera killer.
• Consider using a waterproof housing if one is available for your digital camera.
• Use an ultra violet filter to reduce the blueness of the lighting conditions.
• Look for high vantage points e.g. high cliffs to get unusual viewpoints.
• Try using a polarising filter to give dramatic skies. This filter intensifies the blues and increases contrast. It can also help with reflections from water.
• Be sensitive to the people on the beach. People do sunbathe naked and your intentions could be misinterpreted.
• Look out for pictures including things other than people. Patterns in the sand, driftwood and other items washed up can make interesting subject matter.

Night

• A good tripod is essential for this type of photography. If you don't own a tripod try keeping your camera steady by putting it on a wall or post. It's not as convenient as a tripod, but it's better than nothing!
• Start taking photographs at dusk when there is still detail in the sky.
• Use a remote control release and if you have one, use the mirror lock.
• Try very long exposures. This works particularly well when moving traffic is included in the shot.
• An excellent night time subject matter is fireworks. Experiment with slow and fast shutter speeds for different and creative effects.
• Some of the most interesting and atmospheric night shots are taken when there is fog or mist around.
• Take a torch. Setting camera controls by touch needs practice.

Sunset / Sun Rise

• Look for strong and interesting silhouettes to photograph the sunrise/sunset against.
• Lift the camera up to exclude any unwanted foreground which will only show as a dark landscape.
• Experiment by over and underexposing the sky.
• Turn away from the sunset and photograph the reflected light in windows and buildings.
• Rest your camera on a solid platform or object. Better still, use a tripod.
• Take care and do not look directly in to the sun, especially through a camera lens.
• A graduated grey filter can be useful to darken the sky against the foreground landscape.
• Take a sequence of photographs showing the changing colours of the sunrise/sunset.

Historical

• Study monuments and buildings carefully noting when the sunlight falls on the most interesting viewpoints.
• Avoid photographing monuments against dull and cloudy white skies. If possible, wait until the sun shines.
• When using wide-angle lenses, be careful with converging verticals. Use a spirit level on a tripod to get the camera level.
• Try to visit historical monuments when battle re-enactments are taking place, there are some wonderful photographs to be taken at such events.
• Look for decay and detail which can be more interesting than general views.
• Study picture postcards of the building or monument to see what the 'professional photographer' has taken. You will instantly see where the best viewpoints are, then try to improve on the photographs.
• Get permission or a permit to photograph indoors and, if possible, use a tripod.
• On camera flash can kill indoor atmosphere so try to use available light. You will definitely require a tripod for this technique.

People

• When taking a portrait and you want to achieve blurred back grounds then make sure you are at full zoom or zoom above 100mm and you have selected the widest aperture f2 if you have it. You can achieve blurred backgrounds in macro mode but be wary of a very shallow depth of field
• If you want to take a picture of someone looking themselves try not to invade their personal space and use zoom to keep your distance.
• Try to convey them in their surroundings include some background that is relevant to their lively hood to help tell a story.